“Enjoy yourselves, boys. The night is young,” he says before walking away.

“You alright?” I ask Eli, knowing the answer I’ll receive will be half-assed.

“Yeah, she already left… I'm going to get another drink.”

While watching his retreating form stride across the room, a leggy blonde catches my eye. She’s standing off to the side, entertaining quite a large group of people. She’s stunning in a skin-tight, black, knee-length dress, showcasing her sculpted legs in high heels.

I continue sipping my whiskey as I watch her, gauging whether she’s here with anyone. There’s a break in their group conversation, and her eyes scan the room, eventually landing on me, who is blatantly staring. She raises her champagne glass in my direction, and I reciprocate from where I stand.

Eli rejoins me a second later, pulling my focus. He seems absolutely miserable, and I know him well enough to sense he’s not sticking around for long.

Spotting an open circular booth that allows for a perfect view of my conquest, I nod in that direction. “Want to sit for a bit?” I ask him.

“Yeah, sure.”

We remain silent as we sit, taking in the club from this position. Looking upward, you can see two more floors with glass railings. Allowing the patrons roaming the upper levels a clear view of the center stage.

“I think the burlesque show is starting,” I say, noting the stage now being illuminated by soft spotlights.

“I'm probably heading out in a few,” Eli says into his glass.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing here for me,” he murmurs, then throws back the rest of his drink.

A cute cocktail waitress comes to the opening of our circular booth. “Good evening. I'm Maggie, and I’ll be your waitress. Can I get you guys anything?”

Eli doesn’t even respond, just stares blankly at his hands, holding the empty glass.

“I’ll have another Johnnie Blue neat, please. And he’ll have a water and a beer.”

Once the waitress leaves, my eyes search the crowd for the blonde. I find her in deep conversation with Sloan and Wesley across the room in a booth of their own. Her smile is radiant, one I can’t seem to stop stealing glances of. So much so, I'm having a hard time pulling my focus to the half-naked woman walking out onto the stage.

Our drinks are delivered, and another bout of silence fills our booth as we watch the burlesque dancer move about. Not even ten minutes later, I can tell Eli is ready to go. He’s restless and has no interest in being here. His face is void of any emotion other than disappointment.

The lights dim, and the stagehand collects the discarded clothes before scurrying off. With that, Eli stands, as I predicted. “I'm going to head out. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”

There’s no point in asking him to stay, so instead I tell him to get home safely. He escapes just before the next dancer comes onto the stage, but this time, there’s a chair in the middle.

The show continues for about an hour, with each performer bringing something different to the stage. Overall, it’s hot as hell, and I'm thankful I get to experience it all.

My leggy blonde has since relocated to a small area behind the booths, where she is swaying her hips to the heavy beats streaming through the speakers. As her tight body leans against a pole, she’s certainly using it to her advantage. I can't help but notice the small crowd forming around her, but there is no conversation involved—just pure lust. They’re more interested in her than anything else in the room. Watching how she twists and glides her body teasingly. Well aware of the number of eyes she has on her. The way her pouty red lips curve into a small smirk when our eyes lock from across the space.

Without realizing, I have moved my position in my circular booth so I can have a better view of her and the show she’s putting on. My dick aches, thinking about all the things I’d like to do to her. Picturing her long, toned thighs wrapped around my ears, the gasp I’d hear when I'm fully seated inside of her, the way that pretty mouth of hers would scream my name as I make her come all over my cock. Fuck, I'm rock hard now.

My concentration is broken when Wes’s big fucking frame steps between me and my soon-to-be conquest.

I nod at him. “What’s up, man?”

I clearly haven’t been subtle in my admiration of the masked vixen across the way, because he glances over at her and then back at me. “You sure you know what you're doing?”

“I'm more than sure,” I smirk, knowing no dumber words have ever been spoken.

I don’t actually know what the fuck I'm doing or about to get myself into. But I don’t seem to care, because my sight is set on her and it has been since the moment I saw her.

Shaking his head, he disappears up the stairs to where Sloan is waiting. I raise my glass to where she peers out over the club, a proud grin on her face. Good, she should be proud; tonight has been a huge success, and there is nothing I enjoy more than cheering on my friends and their accomplishments.

Next thing I know, a keycard is being placed on my table. Maggie smiles at me while setting another drink beside it.